Foster teens face uncertain futures as emancipated adults after graduation, abruptly released from court's oversight

Foster teens face uncertain futures as emancipated adults after graduation, abruptly released from court's oversight

Like other foster youths across the state, Kinyon faces graduation with eager excitement and a sense of anxiety because she knows she will be on her own. About 5,000 of the 80,000 children in foster care leave the child welfare system each year in California.

Of those, 65 percent need housing immediately, 51 percent are unemployed within two to four years and 40 percent are homeless within 18 months, said James Wogan, who coordinates services for up to 500 foster students annually in the Mt. Diablo school district. Kinyon is one of 16 foster youths in the district graduating from high school this month.